Netflix expands its content empire to 130 more countries

Netflix is more determined than ever to rule the world of online video streaming. During its keynote presentation at CES 2016 on Wednesday, Netflix announced that it will expand its services to 130 new countries, including gigantic markets such as Russia and India. Share prices of Netflix surged on the news and as of this writing are up over 6% on the day.

“Today you are witnessing the birth of a new global Internet TV network,” said Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. “With this launch, consumers around the world — from Singapore to St. Petersburg, from San Francisco to Sao Paulo — will be able to enjoy TV shows and movies simultaneously — no more waiting. With the help of the Internet, we are putting power in consumers’ hands to watch whenever, wherever and on whatever device.”

Notably absent from the list of expansion countries is China, which also happens to be the biggest potential untapped market for Netflix viewing in the world. That said, the expansion to 130 more countries is massive and ambitious and shows that Netflix is ready to play on a truly global scale. Up until this point, Netflix has mostly operating in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Japan. With this new expansion, it’s moving aggressively into markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East as well.